life on the ward
Patient's rights
Overall, the status and dignity of mental health patients improved in the 20th century. Liff had an open wards policy from early in the century, with hardly any locked areas. Individuals also had more rights, underpinned by the Mental Health Act of 1960. Social attitudes to mental illness started to change and the issues were no longer shied away from.
As staff numbers were increased in the NHS – there were 340 staff at Liff by the mid-1960s - more activities and therapies became available for patients. In the last decades of the century there was a shift in emphasis towards involving patients and families in the planning and use
of mental health services.Locally, a users group, called Little Wing, representing the views of those with experience of mental health difficulties, was started in February 2000.
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Patient music group poster from Royal Dundee Liff Hospital
Courtesy of University of Dundee Museum Services
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